Solano County Counsel Dennis Bunting is being honored for his efforts on a team of attorneys to hold the country's largest paint manufacturers responsible for promoting the use of lead paint in homes.

Today, the Solano County Board of Supervisors will recognize Bunting as a member of a team of attorneys in receiving Public Justice's 2014 Trial Lawyers of the Year Award.

Meanwhile, the Solano County Board of Supervisors will declare September as Adult Literacy Awareness Month.

In 2000, according to staff, 10 California cities and counties sued several of the country's largest paint manufacturers to hold the companies responsible for promoting the use of lead paint in homes, even though its dangers to children has been known for decades.

The process included multiple appeals, depositions and thousands of digital documents, culminating in a seven-week trial, the team of 27 attorneys, which included Bunting, successfully argued that "lead paint in homes is a public nuisance that creates a quantifiable risk of harm to children who reside in or visit those homes."

Many of the affected children, staff noted, are from low income families.

On Dec. 16, 2013, the team won a landmark $1.15 billion judgment (lead paint abatement) against three of the major paint manufacturers.

The Santa Clara County trial court ruled that funds were to be paid into an abatement fund to be managed by the State of California to pay for inspectors and lead removal in tens of thousands of homes.

The attorneys who successfully fought for lead paint cleanup in People of California V. Atlantic Richfield were named as Public Justice's 2014 Trial Lawyers of the Year on July 27.

In other action, Supervisors will consider a recommendation from the Department of Library Services for the county to recognize September as Adult Literacy Awareness Month and honoring the Library's Literacy Services for 20 years of service to adults the county.

The California State Library is sponsoring a state-wide campaign, staff explained. In 1984, the California State Library began sponsoring library literacy programs in an effort to combat adult illiteracy throughout California. Solano County received a start-up grant in 1994 to offer these adult literacy services to residents.

Approximately 20 percent of the adult residents in Solano are considered functionally illiterate. This number equates to approximately 60,000 adults. Another 32 percent are considered marginally illiterate, bringing the total of adults who struggle with reading to more than 50 percent of the adult population.

On Sept. 8, International Literacy Day, Library Literacy Services will host an informational and interactive display in the lobby of the Solano County Administration Center from 8 a.m. to - 5 p.m. Adult learners, volunteers and staff will be on hand to talk about the work of the program and to increase awareness of adult literacy issues in the community. A program at 9 a.m. in the multipurpose room will feature California State Librarian, Greg Lucas, who will speak about his work with the State Library and the campaign to eliminate adult illiteracy statewide. Adult learners, Velma Benson and Yolanda Sixto, will talk about their literacy challenges and successes. Literacy volunteer and county employee, Elaine Pulido, will round out the agenda with her personal story of her role as an adult literacy tutor for over seven years.

"The primary focus of the event and indeed, the entire month of September, is to build awareness of the impact of low literacy skills on adults and the effect on the entire family," staff said in a report to the board. "Each year, hundreds of adult learners are served by trained volunteer tutors. Adult Literacy Awareness Month will help to share the stories of adult learners now served by Library Literacy Services and spread the word about the need for additional volunteers."

The Solano County Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the County Government Center, 675 Texas St., Fairfield.